When i covered the HyperOS 3 Chinese version, the response was incredible. Now that HyperOS 3 is officially rolling out in India, it’s time to look at what the Indian version brings to the table. Installed on the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, this update introduces several new features, refined animations, better ecosystem connectivity, and some India-specific adjustments — along with a few notable omissions .
One of the most exciting additions is Hyper Island, Xiaomi’s take on the dynamic notification system concept. The implementation feels refined and practical. It supports live activities for music, timers, voice recording, and even charging. You can run up to three activities simultaneously and switch between them seamlessly. The music player animation dynamically adapts to album art, and it pauses instantly when playback stops, which adds a subtle but polished touch. Another useful detail is the ability to flick these live activities into floating windows and then push them back into the island smoothly. However, support is currently limited to Xiaomi apps and select music apps like Spotify and White Music. Apps like Blinket or Swiggy are not supported yet, which limits its broader usability .
Lock screen customization has also received meaningful improvements. There’s now a “Sets” option that allows you to save multiple wallpaper setups and switch between them anytime. A new Classic section introduces five wallpapers that support depth effects. Most importantly, you can now mix and match any clock style with any wallpaper, which wasn’t possible before. That added flexibility significantly improves personalization. However, the AI wallpaper effects like the cartoon and knitting styles seen in the Chinese version are missing in India for now .
The home screen experience feels more modern this time. Xiaomi has refreshed system app icons after a long time, including Gallery, Weather, and Camera, giving them a cleaner look. There are new widgets, especially for pets and weather, which add personality to the layout. The search button now functions as a full AI home search, allowing you to search files on your device along with AI-powered search capabilities built directly into the system .
The control center has also been redesigned. It now appears more colorful, with each icon having a different color and all tiles placed on a white background instead of the previous blue theme. The status bar icons for Wi-Fi and battery have been modernized as well. Overall, the interface feels visually more polished compared to HyperOS 2 .
System apps have seen subtle but noticeable refinements. Settings icons are updated, the Voice Recorder includes a new enhanced voice option, and the Gallery app now features a more rounded floating menu along with improved sorting and search capabilities. HyperOS already supported parallel animations similar to OxygenOS, and with HyperOS 3, Xiaomi has fine-tuned system-level animations further to deliver a smoother and more responsive experience .
Interconnectivity is one of the biggest upgrades in this update. HyperOS no longer limits itself to Xiaomi devices — it now supports iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. If you use both a Xiaomi phone and an iPhone, you can sync iPhone notifications directly to your Xiaomi device and even control your Xiaomi hotspot from your iPhone. When paired with a Mac, you can mirror your phone screen, unlock it using Touch ID, open up to four apps simultaneously, and drag and drop files or photos effortlessly. This cross-platform functionality makes the ecosystem significantly more flexible .
On the AI front, there aren’t many brand-new features, but the existing tools remain strong. In the Gallery app, you can expand images for a wider view, upscale low-quality images using the Ultra HD option, and use AI eraser effectively. The AI Sky feature stands out by allowing dramatic sky replacements in photos. Writing tools can summarize, polish, and adjust tone, while the recording app supports multi-speaker detection, translation, AI speech recognition, and automatic summaries. Gemini integration is also present within system apps like Calendar and Notes .
Despite the improvements, some features are still missing. The control center layout remains non-customizable, there are no haptic feedback responses while adjusting volume or brightness, lock screen widgets are absent, and certain native Android 16 features haven’t been implemented yet. These gaps are noticeable and hopefully will be addressed in future updates .
The HyperOS 3 rollout has already begun in India, and Xiaomi, Poco, and Redmi devices should start receiving the update soon. Overall, HyperOS 3 India focuses on refinement rather than drastic changes. It enhances personalization, improves animations, expands ecosystem compatibility, and strengthens AI capabilities, even though a few expected features are still missing .